Buildings Shake, Damaged in Prince George's County

Dozens of families in Lanham, Maryland, are displaced after something caused two apartment buildings to shift. Some residents described it feeling like an earthquake. 

Pictures taken inside of some of the apartments in the 9800 block of Good Luck Road showed cracks in the walls and ceilings, some large enough to see through to the outside. One woman in a top floor apartment reported feeling the building shift, while others say they smelled gas.

There were 22 apartments in the building, and multiple families were prevented from returning to their homes.

“I’m very confused,” said Ansenne Ngoungeun. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my wife, my kids.”

Prince George’s County Bureau Chief Tracee Wilkins reports the Prince George’s County Fire Department has the authority to deem a structure temporarily unsafe. The county’s department of permitting, inspections and enforcement will decide if the building can be reentered or not.

The director for the department of inspections told Wilkins his team will assess the buildings first thing Monday morning.

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